José Mourinho started his Roma tenure with a bang after his side dismantled Fiorentina 3-1 in the Italian capital.
Two second-half goals from Jordan Veretout handed the ‘Special One’ his first league victory since his appointment as new Roma boss in early May.
The Portuguese coach started his £34m signing, Tammy Abraham against Fiorentina.
The new signing drew a foul from Fiorentina’s Bartosz Dragowski, leading to a straight red card.
The 24-year old assisted two of Roma’s goals, and locals were so impressed they gave the former Chelsea striker a standing ovation as he was substituted in the 68th minute.
The momentum changed in the second-half when Nicolo Zaniolo received his second yellow card and was dismissed just after the break, before Nikola Milenkovic levelled on the hour mark.
Roma stepped up a gear, with Mkhitaryan squaring for Veretout to restore the hosts’ lead, before the Frenchman made it 3-1, 11 minutes from time.
The ‘Special One’ side were undoubtedly stronger on the evening than La Viola.
“It was a nice match even though we didn’t play too well. Fiorentina did very good, especially when they were down a man,” Mourinho explained to DAZN.
“Perhaps we thought it would be too easy, as I said before the match, Italiano’s Fiorentina plays good football. The referee got every decision right, VAR is there to spot every tiny error, which can at times be decisive in games.”
He continued, “We have many different solutions but at this moment what I like is the spirit of the team, the defensive organisation is getting there. I liked our sacrifice this evening even though we just played on Thursday. Then Zaniolo was sent off and we got into the match more, Tammy could’ve scored straight away.”
“We could see Tammy and Shomurodov play together, we talked about it just today. The offensive part of our game will come together slowly, Fiorentina gave us problems and we must acknowledge Italiano, he deserves credit.”
“In the second half, we pressed higher but Veretout didn’t do so on Pulgar, but he did better as the game went on.”
Finally, “The supporters? They were fantastic, just like the day I arrived. I still haven’t done anything yet still they’ve welcomed me very well, so I thank them.”
“You could see the team’s spirit tonight. That heart, that bond with the fans, is my promise: with me we will always give everything. ”
The win has now made José Mourinho the fastest manager to reach 50 wins in SerieA (77 games) in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95), in the Premier League (63 games) and in LaLiga (62 games).
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